Dark Paradise
"Dark Paradise" is the season premiere of the final season of Bates Motel. It aired on February 20, 2017. Synopsis Norman tries to keep up appearances despite a troubling discovery; Dylan and Emma receive a surprise guest. Summary Picking up two years after the events of the previous season, Norman is awoken in his mother's bed by the sound of a record playing and Juno greeting him. Getting dressed, he goes downstairs to be greeted by "Mother" who has made him breakfast. As they eat, he tells her that he is thinking of heading into town for paint supplies from the recently reopened hardware store as the motel could do with some refurbishment. "Mother" laments not being able to go outside due to her being dead and after breakfast, Norman says he needs to go and they kiss, before "she" disappears when he leaves the house. Norman heads into town and goes into the hardware store, cheerily greeting a local. He soon spots a blonde haired woman, who bears a strong physical resemblance to his late mother. She says her name is Madeleine Loomis and he notices that she is wearing a ring on her wedding finger, but she says that her husband does not share her interest in her work. She helps him with choosing some yellow paint but when he goes to pay he realizes he has a wallet that does not belong to him and tells her to hang on to the paint. Rushing home, he finds "Mother" vacuuming and mentions the wallet that he has in his possession. However, he cannot remember checking the owner into the motel, and "Mother" suggests putting it in the office safe. Meanwhile in Seattle, Dylan is hosting a barbecue for Emma's birthday and talks to a friend about a promotion he got with the hops distributor he now works for. When he goes to check on Emma, it is revealed that they are married and also the proud parents of a baby girl named Kate. Soon the doorbell rings and when Emma answers it, she is surprised to find Caleb there. Dylan is equally surprised to see his father and reveals that they're now parents. Allowing Caleb to hold the baby, the latter reveals that he found out where they were living from Emma's Facebook page and says that Norma must be pleased, leading to Dylan saying that he no longer contacts his mother or brother. He says he has not checked into anywhere to stay the night, so Emma suggests that he should stay with them. At the Bend Correctional Facility, it is revealed that Romero has been sentenced to several years imprisonment for lying to Howard Collins about his relationship with Rebecca. He is also attempting to phone someone but his calls go unanswered. While in the exercise yard, his attorney approaches him, apologizing for his parole request being denied even though he had written positive things in his report about him. Romero says he's a crooked cop and that they make an example out of people who are the law and mentions that he still has two years of his sentence to serve. Back at the motel, Norman phones Northwest Science Supply inquiring about a purchase for Luminol on his credit card statement that he does not remember making, although he has a receipt dated October 16. He tells them that he will get his credit card company to contact them and when he hangs up a man enters the office, asking to rent a room for a few hours. Norman tells him that they only charge by night and that it costs $120. The man pays the charge, giving his name as David Davidson, and Norman hands him the key to Room #1. When the man leaves, he heads into the room after grabbing something from his car and Norman goes into the motel office and removes the painting from the wall to reveal a large peephole. Peering through it, he can see the man talking to someone and having sex. Norman starts to masturbate but is interrupted by "Mother" calling him up to the house for dinner. While eating, Norman asks "her" about the Luminol purchase but "she" draws a blank. He says he hates having the blackouts but is reluctant to start taking his meds again. "Mother" says "she" likes the yellow paint that he chose for the motel and when he mentions about meeting Madeleine at the hardware store, "she" immediately goes on the defensive even though he says that she's only in her 20s. Their pleasant meal descends into a full blown argument and "she" storms off. That night, he is unable to sleep and passing by Norma's dressing table that has an overturned bottle of Luminol on it, he goes down to the basement where he has Norma's corpse propped up in a rocking chair, unable to decide what to do. The following morning, Emma awakens to find Dylan playing with Kate and he says that Caleb went into town for bagels and coffee. He cannot shake the feeling that Caleb wants to move to Seattle to be near them and Emma has the same feeling. Dylan then comes clean about Caleb obtaining the money for her transplant operation as he knew that Dylan loved her. He says that Caleb cannot go live near Norma due to their past and does not know what to do. Madeleine drops by the motel office with the paint samples and while Norman walks her to her car, she admires the house and invites him to a meeting for business owners taking place in the old courthouse. Norman notices "Mother" watching them from the window of the house but says he will try to get to the meeting. Emma finds Caleb helping himself to some food in the kitchen. She feels grateful about finally being able to have a normal life and thanks him for getting the money for her transplant operation. However, she tells him that with him in the house it will force Dylan to live a lie in front of their daughter and says that it would probably be for the best that he leaves. Caleb reluctantly agrees and tells her he will tidy everything up. As Norman gets ready to leave the house for the meeting, "Mother" questions him over his true intentions about attending, clearly jealous about the new woman in his life. When "she" tells him that he should not be driving due to his blackouts, he says that he has driven before and dismisses "her" as being passive-aggressive. When he gets into the car and starts to reverse, "she" is suddenly behind him. He tells "her" to get back into the house and getting into another argument, he tells "her" he is just going to a meeting. He accuses her of looking at his computer and "Mother" says she has done everything to protect the both of them. Grabbing him by the ear and dragging back inside down to the basement "she" shows him a corpse of a man in their freezer. Norman is confused and through flashback, "she" reveals that a man showed up with the intention of killing him while he was hanging up the new shower curtains in a motel room but "she" killed him. Together, they wrap the body in a tarp and heading to the lake, Norman rows out and is about to dispose of the body when the man's cellphone rings. Answering it, he discovers that it is a call from an inmate at the Bend Correctional Facility: Romero. Cast Main Cast * Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates * Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates * Max Thieriot as Dylan Massett * Olivia Cooke as Emma Decody * Nestor Carbonell as Alex Romero Guest Cast * Kenny Johnson as Caleb Calhoun * Isabelle McNally as Madeleine Loomis * Austin Nichols as Sam Loomis Also Starring * John Hainsworth as Jim Blackwell * Vivian Lanko as Village Woman * Lucy Ssuubi as Woman * Sam Vincent as Phil * Kyle Warren as Dean Notes * This episode was watched by 1.34 million viewers. * The hardware store that Madeleine owns was owned by Sam Loomis in Psycho. * Norman Bates watching Sam Loomis and (a not directly seen) Marion Crane through the peephole is taken from Psycho in which Norman watched Marion through the same peephole. Norman starts to masturbate, a possible allusion to the 1998 remake starring Vince Vaughn. *When Madeleine Loomis sees the Bates house after dropping off the paint samples she says it reminds her "that Hopper painting". This is a reference to Edward Hopper's 1925 painting "The House by the Railroad", which served as the inspiration for the look of the Bates house. * While Norman and Madeleine are chatting "Mother" appears in the upstairs window of the house, which is a reference to the scenes in Psycho where Detective Arborgast believes he can see Norma's silhouette when he visits the property and Sam and Lila also think they see her. * Sam checks into the motel under a fake name, which Marion Crane used when she checked in in Psycho. Music Videos Bates Motel Season 5 - Check-In on Norman Bates The Final Season Premieres February 20 A&E Bates Motel "Dark Paradise" Recap (Season 5, Episode 1) A&E Gallery DP1.jpg DP2.jpg DP3.jpg DP4.jpg DP5.jpg DP6.jpg Category:Episodes Category:Season 5 Episodes Category:Season Premiere